Part of this is pretty simple: With no 4G, there’s no compelling reason for people to buy smartphones, not to mention iPads. The other part, though, is that they simply have no other option. As Verizon noted, it didn’t want to buy other carriers and didn’t think the government would be all that enthused by the idea anyway.

They also have to be mildly nervous about Sprint becoming part of Softbank and T-Mobile buying up MetroPCS. And if you can’t merge, buy! That said, at least this is something that will benefit the consumer, and in AT&T’s case, maybe stop all those dropped call jokes.

I’ve been working on the LTE build outs for the past year and a half. One of the issues that I’ve seen is that the signal propagation distance seems to drop off when the 4G tech is installed. Case in point: my parents live approximately two and three quarters of a mile from the nearest USCC tower. Reception at my parents’ place was adequate until earlier this year when my 3G coverage dropped from the usual three or four bars to one, often dropping down to the 2G CDMA signal. This change corresponded with the swap out with LTE antennas, a project I was tangentially involved with. So I guess what I’m saying is “every inch” is a bit of a stretch, or as I like to call it: job security.